• World War II Memorial
The »World War II Memorial« in Siófok, the largest town on Lake Balaton, documents all the names of the victims of that war from Siófok. Most of the names inscribed on the memorial belong to Jews who were deported to Auschwitz in 1944.
Image: Siófok, undated, The neolog synagogue on a historical postcard, jewishpostcardcollection.com
Siófok, undated, The neolog synagogue on a historical postcard, jewishpostcardcollection.com

Image: Siófok, 2009, World War II Memorial, www.szoborlap.hu, Ádám Szatmári
Siófok, 2009, World War II Memorial, www.szoborlap.hu, Ádám Szatmári
Siófok, located on the southern bank of Lake Balaton, is both the largest town and most important tourist centre on the lake. The history of the Jewish community of Siófok is closely linked to the development of the lake resort: between 1840 and 1880, the number of Jews residing in Siófok rose from 8 to 531. The Jewish community was founded in 1862, and 1869, the first synagogue was consecrated. When the Hungarian Jewish community split that same year, the community of Siófok opted for the neolog movement.
The increasing anti-Semitism of the inter-war period could also be felt in Siófok. In 1938, German tourists held an anti-Semitic rally in the town. In 1940, all holiday homes owned by Jews were expropriated and divided among Christians. Following the outbreak of war, dozens of men were deployed in work service for the Hungarian army.
In March 1944, when the German Wehrmacht invaded Hungary, about 300 Jews lived in Siófok. 80 of them were deported to Mauthausen in April, 85 more were drafted for forced labour. On June 29, 1944, Hungarian constabulary deported the remaining Jews of Siófok to the Veszprém ghetto, 40 kilometres away. From there, they were brought to the collection camp in Sárvár, western Hungary, and eventually deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Image: Siófok, undated, The neolog synagogue on a historical postcard, jewishpostcardcollection.com
Siófok, undated, The neolog synagogue on a historical postcard, jewishpostcardcollection.com

Image: Siófok, 2009, World War II Memorial, www.szoborlap.hu, Ádám Szatmári
Siófok, 2009, World War II Memorial, www.szoborlap.hu, Ádám Szatmári
About 60 Jewish men from Siófok died in work service detachments of the Hungarian army. Many of the Jews who were deported to Mauthausen in 1944 died there of the terrible conditions they were subjected to. Most of the 197 Jews who were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau were murdered by the SS in the gas chambers immediately upon arrival – 34 of them were children.
Image: Siófok, 2009, World War II Memorial, www.szoborlap.hu, Ádám Szatmári
Siófok, 2009, World War II Memorial, www.szoborlap.hu, Ádám Szatmári

After the war, 72 Jewish survivors returned to Siófok. Some of them had survived the German occupation in hiding in Budapest. In 1947, the synagogue was dedicated anew. Still, the community shrank increasingly in the following years. The synagogue became derelict and was finally torn down in the 1980s. Today, there are only a few Jewish residents in Siófok. A new synagogue was erected in 1986, but it is only open for services in the summer.
There is no memorial in Siófok dedicated specifically to the former Jewish community or to the murdered Jews of the town. In 1995, a memorial to the victims of World War II was unveiled in the centrally located Millennium Park. The names of all war victims from Siófok are listed on a tall obelisk which is situated behind the sculpture of a mourning woman. The memorial was designed by sculptor Sándor Kiss. There is no indication of the fact that the vast majority of the names belong to Jews who were deported from Siófok in 1944.
Image: Siófok, 2009, Detailed view of the memorial, www.szoborlap.hu, Ádám Szatmári
Siófok, 2009, Detailed view of the memorial, www.szoborlap.hu, Ádám Szatmári

Image: Siófok, 2009, Memorial with the names of victims of World War II, www.szoborlap.hu, Ádám Szatmári
Siófok, 2009, Memorial with the names of victims of World War II, www.szoborlap.hu, Ádám Szatmári
Name
II. világháborús emlékmű
Address
Fő utca 57
8600 Siófok
Open
The memorial is always accessible.
Possibilities
In addition to the memorial, there are several smaller exhibition rooms dedicated to the Jewish history of the town in the Kálmán Imre Múzeum in Siófok.